Camshaft adjusters, in particular hydraulic camshaft adjusters, are already known from the prior art, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,321 B1.
In modern internal combustion engines, such devices are used to variably set the control times of gas exchange valves to be able to variably create a phase relation between crankshaft and camshaft in a defined angle range, between a maximum early and a maximum late position. For this purpose, the camshaft adjuster is integrated into a drive train via which the torque is transferred from the crankshaft to the camshaft. This drive train may have a traction means such as a belt drive or a chain drive. A gear drive may also be used here.
A camshaft adjuster is known from the prior art which uses a spiral spring, the spiral spring having a radially protruding section, inserted in a groove, which is located on the inner side of a cover. In this respect, reference is again made to U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,321 B1.
Camshaft adjusters having coil springs are also known from U.S. Pat. No. 7,503,294 B2 and EP 1 365 112 A2.
A very failure-proof camshaft adjuster configuration for internal combustion engines is also known from DE 10 2006 002 993 A1, the spiral spring used there being, however, kept in place via protrusions and pins.
The approach known from DE 103 51 223 B4 also relies on a spiral spring meshing with a protrusion of a counter form-locking element which is used separately from the stator and the cover.
In the known approaches, such as the implementation of a spring suspension on pins of M6 screws or rotor pins, for example, additional components are necessary. Unfortunately, a complicated assembly often results, which is due to an axial stripping of the pre-tensioned spring during the assembly, and there is a high risk of wear.